“Chinese Revolutionary Alliance. We are a secret resistance movement. We pledge our lives to revive Chinese society.”

“Explain,” said Isaac Bell.

In a rush of words, Louis Loh admitted that he was a fervent Chinese Nationalist plotting to overthrow the corrupt Empress. “She is strangling China. England, Germany, all Europe, even the U.S., feed on China’s dying body.”

“If you are a revolutionist, what are you doing in America?”

“Dreadnought battleships. China must build a modern fleet to fend off colonial invaders.”

“By blowing up the Great White fleet in San Francisco?”

“That wasn’t for China! That was for him.”

“ ‘Him’? Who are you talking about?”

With a fearful glance at the New Hampshire, Loh said, “There is a man—a spy—who pays. Not in money but in valuable information about other nations’ dreadnoughts. We, Harold Wing and me, pass it along to Chinese naval architects.”

“And you pay for it by doing his bidding.”

“Exactly, sir. Can we go down now?”

Bell knew this was a major breakthrough in the case. This was the freelance whom Yamamoto had tried to betray in exchange for a clean escape. Louis had gotten him close again.

“You are working for three masters. The Chinese Navy. Your Tongmenghui resistance movement. And the spy who paid you to attack the magazine at Mare Island. Who is he?”

Another freight train of a shell roared by. The structure trembled. “I don’t know who he is.”

“Who is your intermediary? How does he give you orders and information?”

“Mailboxes. He sent information, orders, and money for expenses in mailboxes.” Loh ducked another shell. “Please, let us go down.”

Across the water, sparkling in the first rays of sunlight, all the New Hampshire’s guns traversed toward the cage mast. “Here comes a broadside,” said Bell.

“You must believe me.”

Bell said, “I feel a certain affection for you, Louis. You held off shooting me until I jumped from the train.”

Louis Loh stared at the battleship. “I was not sparing your life. I didn’t have the guts to pull the trigger.”

“I’m tempted to let you down, Louis. But you haven’t told me all you know. I don’t believe that everything came in the mail.”

Louis Loh cast another fearful gaze at the white battleship and broke down completely. “It was Commodore Tommy Thompson who told us to attack the magazine at Mare Island.”

“How did you hook up with the Gopher Gang?”

“The spy bribed the Hip Sing to allow us to approach Commodore Tommy Thompson in their name, pretending we were tong.”

Bell handed Louis Loh a snowy white handkerchief. “Wave this.” He led Loh down the mast. When they reached the barge, apoplectic Test Range officers raced up in a boat. “How did you—”

“Thought you’d never stop shooting. We were getting hungry up there.”